























ClassJ . SQ 



GojjyrightN?_ 

COPYRIGHT DEPO&m 





























































































































































































































































































































































Page Two 







“CORNERS and CHARACTERS 
of RHODE ISLAND” 

by George D. Laswell 

Staff Artist 

Providence Journal and Evening Bulletin 

0 

COPYRIGHTED 1924 
By GEORGE D. LASWELL 

0 

Printed by Tbe Oxford Press 
Providence - Rhode Island 






Bo 

.l_3f 


THE R. I. HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

Strangers visiting the Brown University campus often mistake 
the building pictured opposite as a part of the university and ask what 
department of collegiate activities is housed there. When told that 
it is the home of the Rhode Island Historical Society and has no offi¬ 
cial connection with the university, they express surprise. 

The architectural design of the building and its complete har¬ 
mony with its academic surroundings make the question a natural one. 
Located on Waterman street, adjoining the old university library and 
facing the campus, it might seem an usurper, did not its ivy-covered 
walls so suggest a meeting place of savants. 

The building is eighty years old, and in the collection of historic 
books, pictures and other articles which it houses are many objects of 
great value. The Rhode Island Historical Society was organized in 
1822, and has been active ever since. Its membership includes some 
of Rhode Island’s most noted men and women, and its meetings, held 
in this building, always attract more than passing interest. 


©Cl A SI 4237 


Ci.1 : b .0^4 


-VvD 1 


Page Four 




Page Five 















































































THE MOSHASSUCK RIVER 


One who stands on the banks of the turgid Moshassuck river 
to-day can hardly realize that this small stream was an important 
factor in New England’s transportation system a century ago. Such 
it was, however, and many are the cargoes its waters have 
borne from tidewater in Providence to the Blackstone river and thence 
to Worcester and northern New England. 

The stream was never navigable for sailing craft and achieved 
its part in the world of commerce by means of the lowly towboat. 
Along its banks were beaten paths in which hundreds of horses trod, 
pulling behind them flat-bottomed craft loaded high with the produce 
of many lands. There were no railroads and the highways were often 
impassable for any but the lightest rigs, making water transportation 
necessary wherever possible. 

Later, the railroads came and the Moshassuck’s usefulness as a 
means of transportation was past. Along its banks, mills and fac¬ 
tories sprang up and its waters were impounded to turn water wheels 
or heated in boilers to make steam. Then came the age of electrical 
power and the Moshassuck’s usefulness further declined, until, to-day, 
it is but little more than a large uncovered drain. 



Page Seven 





































































THE PETER RANDALL HOUSE 


More than a quarter of a century before the Revolution Peter 
Randall, a substantial citizen of Providence, built himself a home at 
what is now Number 54 Branch avenue. The house was completed 
in 1748 and still stands, after one hundred seventy-six years, as a 
monument to its builder. 

Viewed from without, the house to-day seems small, yet one 
finds four rooms on the ground floor and four chambers above. When 
first built, it was heated by fireplaces, on the ground floor, while the 
youngsters occupying the chambers above absorbed their heat from 
the bricks of the chimney, which passed through the second floor on 
its way to the roof. 

It is probable that Dame Randall had a hand in its planning and 
that the capacious brick oven, in the base of the chimney, was designed 
by her to be the latest thing in culinary apparatus. Once the bricks 
were hot, it retained its heat for fully twenty-four hours, and what a 
story of Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts, with their pies, puddings 
and roasts, it could tell! 

Those were the days when apples, potatoes and even halves of 
"beef critters” and hogs were stored away in the fall for winter use, 
and the capacious cellar under the entire house probably proved a 
good storage vault. The house is in fair repair to-day and seems 
likely to round out at least two hundred years of usefulness, unless 
ruthless commercialism demands that it be razed and its site occupied 
by something more imposing. 



Page Nine 























































WHERE A POET WOOED AND LOST 


“Clad all in white, upon a violet bank 
I saw thee half reclining; while the moon 
Fell upon the upturn’d face of the roses, 

And on thine own, upturn’d—alas, in sorrow!” 

It was in the garden in the rear of this house, at Benefit and 
Church streets, that Edgar Allan Poe first saw Mrs. Sarah Helen 
Whitman, on a warm night in summer, and it was of this vision that 
he afterward penned the above lines. It was a case of love at first 
sight with the impetuous poet, whose subsequent romance with Mrs. 
Whitman is one of the classic love tales of history. 

At that time, Benefit street was one of the principal residential 
streets of the city and Mrs. Whitman’s was among its best-known 
families. Sarah Helen Whitman had written several poems of more 
than passing merit and it was not strange that she came to reciprocate 
Edgar Allan Poe’s love for her, despite the protests of her family. 

She often delved among the books on the shelves of the old 
Providence Athenaeum, but a few doors from her home on Benefit 
street, and it was in the cloistered recesses of this building that Poe 
pressed his petition for her heart. Finally, matters had progressed so 
far that a marriage covenant was written, only to be broken later upon 
the insistence of Mrs. Whitman’s parents. They refused to sanction 
the poet’s dissolute habits, after he had repeatedly “reformed” and 
fallen from grace. 

His romance ended, Poe left Providence broken in heart and the 
impression which Mrs. Whitman had made upon him can best be 
realized after reading his “To Helen,” and “Annabel Lee,” both of 
which poems, he frankly said, had been inspired by her. That Mrs. 
Whitman was also unable to forget, was shown by her pen portrait of 
Poe, later written. The second verse reads: 

“Again I saw the brow’s translucent pallor. 

The dark hair floating o’er it like a plume; 

The sweet imperious mouth, whose haughty valor 
Defied all portents of impending gloom.” 



Page Eleven 




































































































































































































































































THE BURROWS HOMESTEAD 


When Joseph Burrows, prosperous hardware merchant on old 
High street (now Westminster) decided to erect a substantial family 
home, in 1818, he chose as a site a lot at what is now number 205 
Broad street, then embraced in a small farm on what was the out¬ 
skirts of the town of Providence. The land also included the lot 
now occupied by Union Congregational Church. 

In the rear was a pond, from which the present Pond street de¬ 
rived its name, a part of which was filled in by Mr. Burrows to pro¬ 
vide grounds for his residence. The building was completed in 1818 
and was owned by members of the Burrows family until two years 
ago, when it was sold to others. 

The architecture is typical of the period, and the heavy sills, 
overlays and rafters mutely speak of a day that is gone. The only 
departure from the rather severe Colonial lines was the small observa¬ 
tion tower, or “lookout,” on the roof, which to-day makes an excel¬ 
lent place for a modern radio receiving set. 

After conducting his hardware trade for many years, Mr. 
Burrows embarked in the lumber business, becoming one of the 
founders of the Burrows U Kenyon Company, to-day one of the 
largest lumber concerns in New England. 


Page Thirteen 

















































































































THE ARCADE 


When Cyrus Butler and other citizens of Providence announced 
plans for the erection of an “Arcade building,” to extend from West¬ 
minster to Weybosset street, in 1827, they were derided by friends 
and business associates. The shopping district of the city was then 
on North and South Main streets and Water, and few believed that 
stores on Weybosset and Westminster streets would get much pat¬ 
ronage. 

Mr. Butler and his associates went ahead with their plans, 
however, and decided to pattern their building after the Madeleine of 
Napoleon, in Paris. Its erection involved great labor and skill, par¬ 
ticularly in the making and placing of the large columns which later 
brought it fame throughout the country. 

Each of these columns weighs twelve tons, and they all came 
from Bear Rock ledge, in the town of Johnston. They were blasted 
out of the rock and shaped there and hauled to Providence by James 
Olney. It was necessary to build a special lowgear to transport them 
and the bridge at Olneyville was strengthened to meet the great strain. 
Fifteen yokes of oxen were employed and when the last column was in 
place, Mr. Olney announced that the job, taken under contract, had 
practically ruined him. Major James Bucklin had charge of placing 
the columns, said to be the largest in America, with the exception of 
those in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. 

When the Arcade was completed, late in 1828, the “three sis¬ 
ters,” milliners, were among those who opened shops within its walls. 
This shop became the fashion centre of the city for women’s bonnets 
and through its influence the other shops in the building began to 
enjoy a prosperous trade. 

Cyrus Butler owned the east half of the building and the Arcade 
Corporation the west half. The cost of the building was announced 
as $145,000. 



Page Fifteen 







































































































































































THE BAJNOTTI FOUNTAIN 


Strangers entering or leaving the Union Station in this city have 
often admired the beautiful fountain placed near its east approach, but 
have undoubtedly known nothing of the circumstances which 
prompted its erection. To Rhode Islanders, however, the fountain 
tells the story of a man’s great love for his wife and his desire to honor 
the city in which she was born. 

When A. Paul Bajnotti, of Turin, Italy, married Miss Carrie 
Mathilde Brown, daughter of the late Nicholas Brown, of Providence, 
the occasion was described as the “culmination of an international 
romance.” Mr. Bajnotti took his bride to Italy, where they re¬ 
mained, except for occasional visits to Mrs. Bajnotti’s former home. 

In 1898, Mr. Bajnotti, communicating with Mayor Baker of 
Providence, said he desired to honor his wife by a gift to her native 
city, in the form of a memorial fountain, to cost $10,000. Mayor 
Baker, after consultation with other city officials, accepted the proffer 
and a commission was named and empowered to carry the project 
through. At the request of the commission, many noted artists sub¬ 
mitted plans. The design submitted by Miss Enid Yandell was finally 
accepted and on June 26, 1901, the monument was unveiled with 
fitting ceremony. 

The figures of a woman and three men, which support the foun¬ 
tain basin, depict the “Struggle for Life.” “Life” is symbolized by 
the woman, “the soul of an angel,” and earthly tendencies, duty, pas¬ 
sion and avarice are represented by the male figures. The mantle of 
Truth blowing from the woman’s shoulders forms a drapery for the 
group. The monument stands about twenty feet high. 

Carrie Brown Bajnotti died in 1903 and in the following year 
the “Carrie Tower,” also erected as a memorial to her by her husband, 
was unveiled on the Brown University campus. Mr. Bajnotti died 
in San Remo, Italy, March 14, 1919. 



Page Seventeen 

































































































































































































































































































































THE ATHENAEUM 


For more than eighty-five years the massive stone bulk of the 
Athenaeum, at College and Benefit streets, has been one of the land¬ 
marks of Providence. Nicholas Brown, Moses B. Ives and Robert H. 
Ives in 1836 gave the land on which the building stands and also pro¬ 
vided $6000, on condition that $10,000 more toward the cost of the 
structure was raised, as well as $4000 to match a similar sum fur¬ 
nished from other sources for the purchase of books. 

Ground was broken in 1837 and the building was completed the 
following year. At first the old Franklin Society occupied a portion 
of the building, but since 1849 the whole of the structure has been 
used by the Athenaeum. 

In the Athenaeum is an interesting reminder of the period when 
Edgar Allan Poe visited this city. Prof. Harry L. Koopman, libra¬ 
rian of Brown University, had heard that Mrs. Whitman, to whom 
Poe was at that time engaged, had expressed admiration for an anony¬ 
mous poem that appeared in the American Review in December, 1 847. 

At the time she and Poe were at the Athenaeum, and Mrs. Whit¬ 
man asked him if he had read the poem, “Ulalume,” and if he knew 
the author. Poe replied affirmatively and admitted that he had written 
it. Before leaving the Athenaeum Poe signed the poem. Dr. Koop¬ 
man, by way of verifying the story, went to the Athenaeum and 
looked up the issue of the Review in which the poem was supposed 
to have appeared. The magazine was found, and in it was Poe’s sig¬ 
nature, in his own hand. 



Page Nineteen 






















































































































































































































































IN WINTER QUARTERS 

When winter comes along and brings with it the suspension of 
dredging operations up and down the harbor, the dredging fleet goes 
into winter quarters at Fox Point. Dredges, lighters and other craft 
and the extensive paraphernalia of the trade are all huddled together 
on and along the docks used by the J. S. Packard Dredging Company, 
the concern which does most of the work in this vicinity. 


Page Twenty 



Page Twent y-one 





















































































































STAMPERS’ HILL 


Stampers’ Hill is really the top of Constitution Hill. It is the 
name given to the little section about the junction of North Main 
street and Stampers street, one of the oldest districts in Providence. 

Stampers’ Hill for generations was believed to have gotten its 
name as the result of a stratagem practiced by early settlers against the 
Indians. According to this tradition, the settlers, one cold winter 
night, having reason to believe the Indians were gathering to attack 
the district, went out on the cold ground and set up a great stamping 
with their feet on the frozen earth, to give the impression that there 
were a great many more of them than there really was. So well did 
the stratagem work, according to the story, that the Indians did not 
attack that night or any other night. 

This tale was accepted as the explanation for the name of the 
district until a prosaic historian sought to dig out the facts. He learned 
that at the top of the hill there were once several appliances for grind¬ 
ing and crushing corn into meal. These appliances were known as 
stampers and hence came the name Stampers’ Hill. 

Most of the houses in the settlement were of the Georgian period, 
as the one shown at the left of the picture indicates. All of the struc¬ 
tures were erected previous to the Revolution and occupied by mer¬ 
chants, bankers and ship owners. 



Page Twenty-three 





































































































































































































THE COOKE HOUSE 


Built in 1825 on South Main street, opposite Crawford street, 
the Cooke House remains as one of the finest examples of the Colonial 
type of buildings in Rhode Island. 

Designed by John Holden Greene, architect, this house and an¬ 
other similar to it, which formerly stood just to the north of the 
Cooke house, were looked upon when erected as among the most pala¬ 
tial in the city. The two houses had an unusual arrangement of court¬ 
yard between them, the yard leading to stables and other outbuildings 
in the rear. The courtyard, as one of the city’s shortest highways, 
still survives, as the picture indicates, while some of the old outbuild¬ 
ings are still standing. 







Page Twenty-fout 




Page Twenty-five 



























































































































































































































































DOWN CHURCH STREET 


Church street slants down the hillside from Benefit street to 
North Main street, taking its name from St. John’s Episcopal Church 
which, with its chapel, occupies nearly the whole length of the north 
side of the street. 

The land on the north side of Church street was given to the 
society that was to grow into St. John’s parish more than two hun¬ 
dred years ago by one Capt. Nathaniel Brown of Kettle Point, who, 
two years later, was arrested for failure to pay the Congregational 
church tax assessed against him in his town, which was then a part 
of the colony of Massachusetts. It was about two hundred years ago 
that the first church was built upon the site, known as King’s Church. 

This building, which served to house the activities of the parish 
for almost ninety years, was demolished in 1810 to make way for the 
present church. The existing structure was opened in 1811, when 
the name was changed to St. John’s. The building in the foreground 
of the drawing is the chapel, built in 1853. The tower and one cor¬ 
ner of the church structure itself are seen behind the chapel. The 
tower on the present building was paid for in the usual way, but the 
spire of King’s Church, which preceded it, was financed by a lottery 
held for the purpose. 







Page Twenty-seven 
























































































































































































































ALONG THE WATERFRONT 


The rotting piles, the decaying warehouses and the nest of little 
old shanties crowded into this view are all a part of the Providence 
river waterfront. With the constant stream of vessels coming into 
and leaving the port, with the immense receipts of oil, coal, lumber 
and other shipments, it would seem as if it must be impossible for 
such idle sections to exist along the waterfront. But there are many 
of them, scattered here and there from Fox Point up to Crawford 
street and from there down the west shore to Field’s Point. 

Some of these groups of ancient structures, which constitute a 
constant fire menace to the waterfront, have already been burned out; 
others are slowly giving away before the advance of business. Within 
a few years, probably, views such as this will no longer be found 
along the upper end of the river. 



Page Twenty-nine 





























































































































































































































































































THE OLD MORRIS HOMESTEAD 


Of the thousands who pass the intersection of North Main street 
and Rochambeau avenue daily, there are probably very few who give 
this old house, on the corner of these thoroughfares, but a passing 
glance. Overshadowed by its more pretentious neighbors, it stands 
there seemingly out of place, unless one knows its history. Even the 
little wellhouse at the rear, with its crude wooden pulley and iron- 
bound bucket, is scarcely noticed. 

It was many years before the Revolution that the great brick 
chimney of this homestead was laid and the house built around it, as 
was the custom in those days. Its hand-hewn beams and rafters were 
fixed securely in place with wooden pins and are still in service to-day, 
apparently as strong as ever. The boards on its walls are held in 
place by hand-wrought nails and its stone foundation, laid by masons 
of more than one hundred and fifty years ago, withstands the jar of 
modern traffic without a tremor. 

When one steps within the house, however, he at once feels that 
he is shut away from the world of to-day and that he has stepped back 
at least a century. In every room is furniture as old as the house itself, 
or perhaps older, of which Miss Phebe Morris, owner of the house and 
its contents, is very proud. She has repeatedly refused large sums 
offered for some of her furniture, she says, and is almost daily besieged 
by dealers and collectors. 





Page Thirty-one 



















































































































THE “AUNTIE GREY HOUSE” 


The “Auntie Grey House,’’ at Number 18 Beacon avenue, is 
said to be the oldest house on the west side of Providence. The build¬ 
ing is believed to have been built about 1750 and at the time was con¬ 
sidered by those who “lived in Providence’’ to be “away out in the 
country.” Now it is but a few moments walk from the centre of the 
business district. 

“Auntie Grey,” who was the occupant of the house for many 
years and from whom it took its name, was the daughter of Capt. 
John Smith, a shipmaster who sailed from this port to the far places 
of the earth until he was lost at sea October 3, 1780. 

“Auntie Grey” married Capt. Robert Grey, another Providence 
mariner, who was also lost at sea. Capt. Grey met his death in the 
great gale of September, 1815, and thereafter for many years until 
her death “Auntie Grey” lived alone in the little one-story frame 
dwelling. 



Page Thirty-three 














































































































































































STEPHEN HOPKINS HOMESTEAD 


This venerable house for nearly half a century was the home¬ 
stead of Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Independence, 
one of the first Chief Justices of the Rhode Island Supreme Court and 
ten times Governor of his State. 

The house, more than one hundred and eighty years old, sets 
now on Hopkins street, between South Main and Benefit, on the loca¬ 
tion to which it was removed in 1804 from its original site on South 
Main street, near by. Built from handhewn planks and timbers in 
1742, the house was situated in what was then the very heart of 
Providence, as befitted the residence of one of the town’s most import¬ 
ant and influential citizens. 

There Stephen Hopkins, merchant, shipbuilder and public ser¬ 
vant, lived and labored from that date until his death in 1785. It 
was there that he had his home when, in 1747, he was appointed a 
Justice of the first Supreme Court set up in Rhode Island, when, four 
years later, he was made Chief Justice of that Court, when he was 
time after time elected to the governorship, until his service covered a 
period of ten terms, and when, in 1764, he was made the first Chan¬ 
cellor of Brown University. 

It was from this home that he went, in 1776, to Philadelphia, 
to take part in the discussions that resulted in the drawing up of the 
Declaration of Independence and to sign that famous document, as 
one of the Representatives of Rhode Island. And it was in this house 
that he died at the age of seventy-eight, after a life devoted to the ser¬ 
vice of his fellow citizens. 

From the time of Hopkins’s death in 1785 until 1804 the home¬ 
stead stood on its original site. In the latter year, however, the de¬ 
mands of business having encroached upon the district, the old house 
was moved around the corner and up the sharp incline of Hopkins 
street to its present location, where, still well-preserved, it remains in 
use. Except for the brick underpinning, which was made necessary 
by the grade of Hopkins street when the house was moved to its 
present spot, the building appears about as it did when Hopkins 
occupied it. 



Page Thirty-five 




































































































































































































































































THE FLEUR DE LYS BUILDING 

When one turns north at the foot of the Waterman street hill 
and looks across the grounds of the First Baptist Meeting House to 
Thomas street, his attention is at once attracted by the building pic¬ 
tured opposite. Those who have travelled through Europe wonder 
how this bit of Normandy or Brittany came to be transplanted here 
in such incongruous surroundings, while others ask the origin of such 
an unusual architectural design. 

The building was erected by Sydney R. Burleigh, foremost 
among Providence artists, and designed for a studio building. Com¬ 
pleted in 1886, it has since been occupied by none but artists and has 
come to be known as the art centre of Rhode Island. 

In designing the building, Mr. Burleigh was assisted by the late 
“Ned” Willson, one of the city’s leading architects of the time, and 
the best types of architecture in ancient Brittany and Normandy were 
freely drawn upon. The style is of the seventeenth century and the 
building is one of the best examples of the “half-timbered” structure 
in existence in the State. 

The decorations which cover the front of the structure were orig¬ 
inally designed by Mr. Burleigh and Mr. Willson, who carved the 
woodwork and made the unique decorations in the mortar with which 
the front is covered. Their work attracted considerable attention and 
at times hundreds of persons congregated in the church grounds across 
the street to watch their progress. 

The interior is divided into several studio suites, which at present 
are occupied by Mr. Burleigh and several of the other more prominent 
members of the city’s art colony. 


Page Thirty-six 



Page Thirty-seven 




































































































A “LIGHTNIN’ SPLITTER” ROOF 

Persons familiar with the early history of Providence may recall 
the transit of Venus, in 1769, observance of which brought the pres¬ 
ent Transit street its name. 

The artist, recalling that Joseph Brown placed his telescope on 
the top of the Transit street hill, to observe the transit of Venus, one 
hundred and fifty-five years ago, set out to view the place, but found it 
apparently much changed. On the way, however, he saw the steep- 
roofed house at Number 53 Transit street, and stopped to sketch it. 

The old building is perhaps one of the best examples of the 
'lightnin’ splitter” type in the city. Its roof, rising to a sharp peak, 
extends down level with the top of the front door. On the second 
floor are chambers, each with its sloping walls, with a high attic room 
above. Small dormer windows bring light to the middle of the sec¬ 
ond floor. 

The early history of the house is unrecorded. For many years, 
however, it was owned by the Gorham estate. 





Page Thirty-nine 
































































































































THE UNIVERSITY CLUB 


If Richard Waterman, a freeman, had not been adjudged "erro¬ 
neous, heretical and obstinate,” the historical old building pictured 
opposite might not have been erected. It was because of his obstinacy 
in holding to a freedom in religious belief that he was driven out of 
the Salem colony and came to Providence, where he afterward became 
one of the most wealthy and influential members of the Rhode Island 
colony. He died here in 1673. 

The first Richard Waterman built his house on the original 
home lot near the present corner of Waterman and North Main 
streets and lived there for a number of years. The old homestead at 
Benefit and Waterman streets, now occupied by the University Club, 
was erected by one of his descendants a number of years later, al¬ 
though the exact date of its construction is not recorded. 

When the University Club was founded in this city, its organ¬ 
izers selected the old Waterman homestead as the best club house 
available. The property was purchased and has since been the club’s 
home. A wing added to the Waterman street side of the original 
structure is now used as a club dining room. There have also been 
other additions on the other side and rear of the building. 

On the land now occupied by the dining room annex for many 
years stood a monument to the memory of Richard Waterman, placed 
there by his descendants. 



Page Forty-one 




























































AN EARLY BRICK HOMESTEAD 


At Numbers 537 and 539 North Main street stands the first 
brick house that was built in the compact part of the town of Provi¬ 
dence. It was fashioned from hand-made brick about 1759 and for 
more than a century and a half has served steadily as a dwelling place 
for men. 

Time and the elements have washed from its exterior every detail 
of sharpness of outline and left it mellowed and softened. The sharp 
edges of the bricks have long since worn away and have become 
rounded and smooth, as if made that way. The very corners of the 
building itself are rounded, as they might be if carefully filed with a 
mighty file. 

The building originally constructed as a private dwelling was 
known as the Deputy Governor Elisha Brown house. Later it was 
used as an inn, at which, Lafayette is said to have been entertained. 
It now houses two small stores on the ground floor, while the upper 
stories are occupied as tenements. 



Page Forty-three 























































































































“SHAKESPEARE’S HEAD," IN “GAOL LANE” 


Whenever Stephen Hopkins, signer of the Declaration of Inde¬ 
pendence, felt that he should acquaint the general public with issues 
of his day, he repaired to the “Sign of Shakespeare’s Head,” in Gaol 
Lane, where John Carter published the Providence Gazette. He wrote 
copiously and John Carter put his words into type, that all who 
bought the Gazette might read. Occasionally, the writings of Mr. 
Hopkins would not accord with the views of certain public officials 
and the Providence Gazette would not appear. Then the writer and 
publisher would “haul in their horns” a little and another issue of 
the Gazette was under way. 

Gaol Lane later became Meeting street and the old building in 
which John Carter and his associates published the Providence Gazette 
still stands there at Number 21. The “Sign of Shakespeare’s Head,” 
which topped a post before the house, has long since gone, however. 

John Carter was a Philadelphian, who had been taught the 
printer’s trade by Benjamin Franklin, and came to Providence a 
young man. The Providence Gazette was founded by William God¬ 
dard, who later entered the journalistic field in New York, Philadel¬ 
phia and Baltimore. “Sarah Goddard & Company” resumed publica¬ 
tion of the paper in 1766 and Sarah Goddard’s son, William, was 
John Carter’s partner for a time. 

John Carter became one of the best-known men in Rhode Is¬ 
land. His name is preserved through the John Carter Brown family. 
The descendants of William Goddard are also among the most promi¬ 
nent citizens of the State. The writings of Stephen Hopkins, as they 
appeared in the Providence Gazette, are said to have been a great factor 
in preparing the public for the great struggle which was to result in 
independence of the colonies. 



Page Forty-five 



























































































































THE OLD COLONY HOUSE 


Built in 1761 and occupied from 1762 to 1900 as a “Court and 
State House by the Colony and State of Rhode Island and Providence 
Plantations,” the old State House on North Main street is familiar to 
thousands as the present home of the Sixth District Court. 

In the old structure, called by some, Rhode Island’s Independ¬ 
ence Hall, an act was passed May 4, 1776, “constituting Rhode Island 
the first free and independent republic in America,” and asserting her 
absolute independence of England two months before the Declaration 
of Independence in Philadelphia. 



Page Forty-seven 




















































































































































































































































THE FRANKLIN HOUSE 


When the quaint old building at Number 33 Market square, on 
the northeast corner of College street, which is herewith shown, first 
opened its doors in 1823 as the Franklin House, the approach of the 
vehicle seen at the lower left hand of the picture would undoubtedly 
have caused a sensation, if nothing more. For in those days the rum¬ 
bling stage-coach with its four-in-hand was the usual method of 
travel and Market square was the centre of commercial activities in the 
then town of Providence. The Franklin House was one of several 
hostelries that were located along that thoroughfare and out North 
Main street, the one next to it being the famous old Manufacturers’ 
Hotel, which stood where the present What Cheer building is now 
located. 

The building has an unusually wide frontage on Market square, 
where it is four stories in height, the brick facade being carried up 
above the roof in an ornamental square-shaped projection that recalls 
the old Dutch style of architecture. A sub-roof with a row of win¬ 
dows, extends along the entire top of the house, affording light and 
head-room in what was familiarly designated as the loft among the 
earlier residents. The ancient appearance of the building is somewhat 
lessened by the series of fire escapes that are now on the front of the 
structure in accordance with the building law requirements. 

It was used for hotel purposes for many years, but later stores 
were placed on the ground floor and the interior of the upper floors 
altered to accommodate offices for attorneys and other lines of busi¬ 
ness and professions, and at one time the upper floors were used as 
dormitories for Brown students. 



\ 



Page Forty-nine 


























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL SPIRE 


Standing on an elevation which commands a wide view of the 
city, the First Congregational (Unitarian) Church at Benefit and 
Benevolent streets, with its towering spire, is one of the city’s historic 
landmarks. Built in 1816 on the site of an earlier church which had 
been destroyed by fire, the edifice had, and still has, in its spire a bell 
cast by Paul Revere and his son at Canton, Mass. 

The first church was built in 1723 by members of the society 
on the site now occupied by the Superior Court building. It later be¬ 
came the old town house, and a new church, in 1795, was erected for 
the society at Benefit and Benevolent streets. This was destroyed by 
fire in 1814, to be replaced two years afterward by the present edifice. 

When the new church was built, only the minister’s room could 
be heated. From its great fireplace, just before the services began, 
coals were taken and placed in individual foot-warmers in the pews. 
Many families brought their own embers from home. In those days 
the church was lighted by candles, which at times provokingly 
dripped from the chandelier, to the discomfiture of pew-holders in 
that vicinity. 



Page Fifty-one 























































































































































































































































THE DEACON TAYLOR HOMESTEAD 


The early history of this old building at 9 Thomas street, now 
the home of the Pen and Pencil Club of Rhode Island, is somewhat 
obscured, but old documents possessed by Dr. George T. Spicer, Num¬ 
ber 223 Thayer street, indicate that it was built by Deacon Edward 
Taylor, his great-great-grandfather, between the years 1775 and 
1800. Deacon Taylor, a grandson of Benjamin Gorham of Provi¬ 
dence, was born on Cape Cod in 1751 and died in the house pictured 
opposite in 1832. He was deacon in the First Congregational Church 
(Unitarian )and in its chapel is a pulpit dedicated to his memory. 

Deacon Taylor married Alice Dexter, daughter of Christopher 
Dexter, prominent member of one of the city’s most influential fami¬ 
lies. Their daughter, Alice Taylor, married Henry F. Clark, who 
graduated from Brown University in 1809 and died in 1820. Their 
daughter married Joseph Carpenter and for many years lived where 
the Providence Public Library now stands. The Thomas street house 
remained in the family until Mrs. Carpenter finally sold it to the New 
Haven railroad, which bought all the property on Thomas street 
when it built the Consolidated Line tunnel, later selling the buildings 
and land not required for its purposes. 

For a few years, the house was used as a rooming house, until 
purchased by the Pen and Pencil Club of Rhode Island for its head¬ 
quarters. 

Workmen making changes in the interior of the building re¬ 
cently declared it one of the best examples of the Colonial carpenter’s 
art they had seen. Its massive oak timbers, held by wooden pins, 
were as sound and firm as when placed in position, and the old hand- 
wrought iron nails were blue and strong as when they came from the 
forge. 

The building is about midway of the hill on Thomas street and 
faces the grounds of the First Baptist Meeting House, another of the 
city’s historic old structures. 



Page Fifty-three 
















































































































































































































THE OLD PIDGE HOUSE IN PAWTUCKET 


A survey of famous old buildings in Rhode Island would not 
be complete without this historic old Pawtucket homestead. Under 
its roof Washington and Lafayette were entertained and in its rooms 
French troops, brought to these shores to help in our country’s fight 
for independence, were quartered. 

The house was built during the latter part of the seventeenth 
century by Jeremiah Sayles, who conducted it as a tavern for many 
years. The house derives its present name, however, from the Pidge 
family, direct descendants of Jeremiah Sayles, in whose possession it 
remained for a long time. 

The property was recently acquired by Granville S. Standish of 
Providence, who is refitting the interior in as near its original condi¬ 
tion as possible. He hopes, with the assistance of the Rhode Island 
Historical Society, to preserve it as a historical shrine, open to the 
public. 



Page Fifty-five 




















































































































































































PAWTUXET COVE 


About the busiest places in Rhode Island in the spring of the 
year are the boat yards and anchorages along both sides of Narragan- 
sett Bay, where hundreds of small craft of every description take the 
water after lying idle during the winter months. But a small part of 
them are housed when not in commission, the rest lying upon the 
sandy beaches in sheltered coves, with covers of tarpaulin to protect 
them. 

Perhaps the most popular of such places near Providence is Paw- 
tuxet Cove, where hundreds of motor and sailboats are herded to¬ 
gether for the winter, and about the time the pussy willows bloom the 
entire district presents a scene of great activity. Sunday is the busiest 
day of all, and from morning until night, scrapers and paint brushes 
wielded by amateur hands, ply industriously. When the boats are 
thoroughly scraped and painted, they are rolled down the sands into 
the water, there to remain until hauled ashore again in the fall. 



Page Fifty-seven 
























































































































































































“THE ROUND TOP” 


Few buildings in Providence are more widely or more familiarly 
known than “The Round Top,” the place of worship of the Benefi¬ 
cent Congregational Society. Situated on the south side of Broad 
street near Chestnut street, it is surmounted by an immense white and 
gilded dome, forming a conspicuous feature of the city’s skyline. It 
is one of the most striking examples, of architectural design in the city, 
with spacious portico and large wooden pillars and wide flights of steps 
extending nearly entire frontage of the building. The building is 
entirely of wood, the exterior following the beautiful simplicity of the 
Doric order while the interior favors the Colonial in its treatment and 
finish. 

More than a century old, it is one of the “show” places of the 
city and always proves an interesting study for visitors. The Benefi¬ 
cent Congregational Society was the first of that denomination on the 
west side of the river and was formed March 7, 1743, although it 
was not until 1748 that the first house of worship was erected on the 
site of the present building, on land given by Daniel Abbott, who also 
gave the open space adjoining the church property and; known as 
Abbott Park. 

The building shown in the opposite sketch was erected in 1809, 
was dedicated January 1, 1810, and was from plans by John New¬ 
man, Asa Bosworth and Smith Bosworth, architects. The brick 
chapel which adjoins it, facing on Chestnut street, was built about 
thirty years ago by the late Henry J. Steere as a memorial to his father, 
Jonah Steere, who was for many years a member of the church. The 
original cost of The Round Top was $20,000. In 1836 improve¬ 
ments were made at an expense nearly equal to the original cost. But 
the building has never been changed from its original conception. 





Page Fifty-nine 

































































































































































THE ESEK HOPKINS HOUSE 


Among the historic shrines of Providence, none is perhaps better 
known and more revered than the Esek Hopkins house, on the easterly 
side of Admiral street. Its history is tersely told on a brass plate 
placed upon it by the City of Providence, which reads as follows: 

“Esek Hopkins, 1718-1802, First Commander-in-Chief of the 
American Navy, lived in this House.” 

Thus is the history of the building told, but the story of its 
famous occupant, whose enemies forced his dismissal from the navy in 
seeming disgrace, and the courage and fortitude with which he ac¬ 
cepted this crushing blow, is an epic of American patriotism which 
raised Esek Hopkins higher in the estimation of his fellowmen than 
his services as commander-in-chief of their infant navy. 

Hopkins was appointed commander-in-chief on December 21, 
1775, six months after the General Assembly of Rhode Island had 
demonstrated the State’s readiness for naval action by authorizing the 
chartering of two vessels, fully armed and manned, to protect the 
trade of the colony. Abraham Whipple was placed in command and 
on the day of his appointment fired the first gun in naval action and 
took the first naval prize in the Revolution. When the Continental 
fleet was organized, Whipple was given command of the Columbus, 
to serve under Commander Hopkins. 

Commodore Hopkins flew his flag on the Katy, which he after¬ 
wards renamed the Providence. He was ordered to attack the enemy 
ships in Chesapeake bay and then proceed to Rhode Island, to destroy 
the British fleet then in these waters. Smallpox broke out aboard his 
ships, however, and finally he sailed for New Providence, in the 
Bahamas, where he captured cannon and small stores of ammunition. 
Then he started north again and, after capturing two small vessels, 
encountered the British Frigate Glasgow. In a running battle, the 
Glasgow escaped, after disabling some of Commodore Hopkins’s ships. 

This was the final episode in an unlucky career for Commodore 
Hopkins, whose enemies in Congress began to demand his removal. 
On January 2, 1778, he was dismissed from the service. 

Space forbids a detailed story of Commodore Hopkins’s subse¬ 
quent career, except the statement that he returned home, served in 
the Rhode Island Legislature and was made a member of the Council 
of War. He died February 26, 1802. The house in which he lived 
was given the city of Providence by Elizabeth Angell Gould and has 
become a public shrine. It is the meeting place of Esek Hopkins 
Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution. 



Page Sixty-one 











































































































































THE OLD MARKET BUILDING 


Few structures are so conspicuously located, or so widely known 
as the “Old Market Building” at the east side of Market square, now 
occupied principally by the Providence Chamber of Commerce. Built 
by lottery in 1773, it was used successively by the town market, va¬ 
rious Masonic bodies, City Hall and the Board of Trade, which later 
became the Providence Chamber of Commerce. For many years its 
brick facades were completely hidden beneath a thick coating of plas¬ 
ter and paint, but some ten years ago this was removed and the build¬ 
ing restored to its original outward appearance. 

On the outside of its west end are two tablets of bronze, which 
recite historic incidents in connection with the building. The smaller 
one at the northwest corner marks the site of the ‘‘Providence tea 
party,” where on Thursday, March 2,1775, a bonfire was made of 
more than three hundred pounds of tea and burned, while bells were 
tolled, speeches made and the ‘‘assembled Sons and Daughters of Lib¬ 
erty pledged themselves not to use the East Indian herb till they could 
do so free from English taxation.” 

The other tablet, at the lower southwest corner, was erected by 
the Masonic fraternity to commemorate the associations between the 
organization and the building. This is one of the notable structures 
in the Masonic history of the country, for here it was that Thomas 
Smith Webb organized St. Johns Commandery, No. 1, Knights Tem¬ 
plar, in 1802, and the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and 
Rhode Island in 1805, after having written the militant ritual of 
Masonry upon the lines that is in vogue at the present time. In this 
building Providence Royal Arch Chapter, No. 1, was instituted in 
1797; Providence Council, No. 1, Royal and Select Masters, orga¬ 
nized in 1818, and Mount Vernon Lodge occupied it in 1824. 

It was first occupied by St. Johns Lodge in 1797, when the town 
granted that lodge the privilege of adding a new story to the upper 
part of the building to be used as a hall unit until it should be taken 
over for municipal purposes. After the city charter was issued in 
1836 the building was gradually absorbed by the city and afforded 
cramped accommodations for various municipal officials, until their 
removal to the new City Hall in Exchange Place in 1878. On Jan¬ 
uary 1, 1880, the building was leased to the Providence Board of 
Trade and has since been occupied by that association and its succes¬ 
sor, the Providence Chamber of Commerce. 



Page Sixty-three 






























































































































































































































































































































































































THE FIRST BAPTIST MEETING HOUSE 


The “Mother Church of American Baptists” is the name often 
applied to the First Baptist Church of Providence and to its historic 
edifice, designated the First Baptist Meeting House, members of the 
Baptist denomination throughout the world turn as to a shrine. Not 
far away repose the bones of Roger Williams, founder and first pas¬ 
tor of the church, and upon the hill above its grounds is located Brown 
University, the great educational institution which Baptists were 
largely instrumental in founding. 

Aside from its historic attributes, however, the old edifice has 
other claims to greatness. One cannot look at its spire without being 
impressed by its beauty and, as a whole, the building is considered one 
of the best examples extant of early colonial architecture. It was de¬ 
signed by James Gibbs, after plans executed for the Church of St. 
Martin’s-in-the-Fields, London, and is in the fine classic manner of 
Sir Christopher Wren. James Sumner and James Brown were the 
architects. 

Many historic occasions have been observed within its walls, 
including funeral solemnities when news of the death of George 
Washington reached Providence. In June it is the scene of gradua¬ 
tion exercises of Brown University, as it has, since the university was 
founded. 




Page Sixty-five 


































































































PELEG RHODES HOMESTEAD—1678 

After coming to Rhode Island from Rehoboth because of re¬ 
ligious differences with the authorities, in 1646, Zachary Rhodes 
established himself in Pawtuxet, where he became a large landowner. 
For a time he was treasurer of the town of Providence, and he also 
held other offices. 

Among the eight children of Zachary Rhodes was Peleg Rhodes, 
who assisted his father in carrying on the large estate and who built 
the southerly end of the house pictured opposite at what is now num¬ 
ber 2194 Broad street, Pawtuxet, in 1678. Twelve years later the 
house was enlarged, to accommodate a growing family and in 1878 
it was remodeled again by its owners. 





Page Sixty-seven 















































































































































































THE JOHN BROWN HOUSE 


Erected in 1786, and referred to by John Quincy Adams in 
1789 as “the most magnificent and elegant private mansion that I 
have ever seen on this continent,” the John Brown House, 52 Power 
street, is still pointed out as one of the city’s most beautiful dwellings, 
and represents the finest work of the Georgian period. 

The statues which surmount the gate posts are celebrated in 
poetry through the writings of Sarah Helen Whitman. For more 
than a century they have looked down on passers-by and the fancies 
of children have been stimulated by the tale of how these statues come 
down from their pedestals and embrace each other when they hear the 
the church bells strike at midnight. 

Wharves, houses and an “extensive distillery” were among the 
possessions of John Brown, Providence pioneer and brother of Moses 
Brown, the Quaker, whom the Duke de la Rochefocauld-Lincourt, a 
French nobleman, highly praised for his achievements in a letter 
written to friends in France during a visit here in 1795-97. 

John Brown was a merchant prince, a manufacturer and a trader, 
whose fortune was largely used for the public good, as evidenced in 
his donations to Brown University and other public institutions. He 
was also a patriot and the leader in the plot which resulted in the 
burning of the British schooner Gaspee, on the point which now bears 
the vessel’s name, a few miles down Narragansett Bay. 

In the mansion on Power street, hospitality was freely given and 
when George Washington came to Providence, he was a guest there. 
Brown University Commencement dinners were also held under its 
roof. In recognition of his public service, his social distinction and 
sound judgment, John Brown was sent to Congress as Representative 
from Rhode Island for two years. The house now contains the finest 
private Shakespearean collection in the world. 




Page Sixty-nine 

















































































































































































































THE NATHANAEL GREENE HOMESTEAD 


It was in and about this historic homestead in Coventry that 
Rhode Island citizens gathered to honor the Rhode Island Quaker who 
became second in command of the American army in the Revolu¬ 
tionary War and the military genius of his age. 

Nathanael Greene was but twenty-eight years old when he as¬ 
sumed charge of iron works established in Coventry, and it was in the 
house pictured opposite that he lived when his country’s call came. It 
was also here that he left his bride when he went away. 

The subsequent career of this Rhode Island patriot is told in 
every school history. It is unfortunate that he removed to Georgia 
after his service in the Revolution was ended and lived in the South 
until he died. Rhode Island can justly claim him as her own Revolu¬ 
tionary hero, however. 



Page Seventy-one 



































































“OLD STONE HOUSE” 


As one passes along Cranston street going in a westerly direction, 
his attention is arrested just as he crosses Bridgham street by a one- 
story stone dwelling house sitting sideways to the street and a few feet 
back from the fence line. Partially covered by English ivy, it forcibly 
reminds one of the picturesque homes in the rural sections of England, 
its trellised doorway in the middle of the house giving an added touch 
to the picture. 

The house was erected by an English immigrant named John 
Ledward, a stone mason, who came to this country with his family 
about 1840 and at once erected the little stone house. There were 
four sons and two daughters in the family, the sons all going to West¬ 
erly in early life where they were identified with the granite industry. 

Located directly opposite Gilmore street in what was then the 
suburban section, Mr.< Ledward remained the owner only a com¬ 
paratively few years, for in 1854 the property was purchased by the 
late Elisha Paine and has continued in the Paine family up to the 
present time, a period of about seventy years. 

The house is substantially constructed, all the stones used in its 
walls having been cut by Mr. Ledward himself in the back yard of the 
little estate and then laid in cement. It was originally intended for 
a one-family dwelling, but in recent years was divided into a two- 
family house. It is one of the landmarks along Cranston street. 





Page Seventy-three 


































THE MARKET PLACE 


Every weekday morning, while the city still sleeps, heavy farm 
wagons and ponderous trucks pound their way over the pavements of 
Canal street and add their loads to the mighty pile of produce that 
feeds Providence from day to day. For generations Canal street has 
been the city’s wholesale market place, that busy, noisy and always 
picturesque centre where farmers come to sell their goods and dealers 
come to buy them. 

The buildings that line the market place and house the wholesale 
firms are ancient ones. Many of them have been in use for more than 
a century. Their early nineteenth century forms squat in sharp con¬ 
trast to the graceful modern “skyscrapers” of the financial district that 
tower over them from just across the river. It is the quaintness of 
their architecture and their grimy, worn exteriors that give these old 
market buildings the charm that appeals to the artist. 

Seen through the mist that rises from the steaming pavements 
under the warming rays of a morning sun, with its ancient buildings, 
its bustling, haggling throng of farmers, commission merchants and 
buyers, its great heaps of fruit and vegetables and its inevitable legion 
of pigeons which, like men, get their living there, the market place 
presents a scene that has its appeal, too, for the layman. 



Page Seventy-five 
























































































































































































































































THE SULLIVAN DORR HOUSE 


In this old house at the corner of Benefit and Bowen streets, was 
planned Rhode Island’s bloodless revolution, of 1842, called in his¬ 
tories, “The Dorr War,’’ and to this same old house Thomas W. 
Dorr, leader of the revolt, returned to die in retirement after being lib¬ 
erated from prison, where he was serving a sentence for treason. The 
whole story is familiar to most Rhode Islanders, however, and cannot 
be repeated here. 

Pope’s villa at Twickenham is supposed to have furnished the 
model for the Dorr Mansion, which was built by Sullivan Dorr, 
father of Thomas W. Dorr, in 1809-10. Standing back from and 
above the street, it is approached by a flight of stone steps set in the 
wall which surrounds the grounds, and, altogether, spoke of luxury 
and refinement until its environment underwent a great change. Its 
mural decorations, the work of a Neapolitan artist who visited Provi¬ 
dence in 1810, were known afar. 

In the rear of the mansion, on the original home lot of Roger 
Williams, is a monument marking the grave of the founder of Provi¬ 
dence and six members of his family. 



Page Seventy-seven 
















































































































































































THE COLE HOMESTEAD, COLE’S STATION 


Every commuter and excursionist using the Rocky Point and 
Buttonwoods trolley lines is familiar with the conductors’ announce¬ 
ment “Cole’s.” Few, however, are aware of the fact that this station 
gets its name from the farm upon which it stands and that by walking 
a short distance eastward is to be seen the old Cole Homestead here¬ 
with pictured. It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest dwelling house 
now standing in Rhode Island. 

It is now owned by the E. A. Cole estate and has been in the 
Cole family since 1823. It was built by Deputy Governor John 
Greene for his son. Major Job Greene, who married Phebe Sayles, a 
grand daughter of Roger Williams, January 22, 1684. The land on 
which the house stands was part of a large tract purchased from the 
Narragansett sachem, Miantonomi, October 1, 1642, by John Greene, 
a founder of Warwick. During the long life of Job’s son, Judge 
Philip Greene (1705-1791), the homestead, then as afterwards 
known as “Occupasuetuxet,” or Pastuxet, was the centre of the social 
and political life of the town. Benjamin Franklin and other notable 
men of the period are known to have been guests there. 

The homestead is in an unusually good state of preservation hav¬ 
ing been constructed of the heavy solid timbers generally found in 
buildings of the colonial period. Two rooms of the structure are said 
to have been erected in 1638 and the remainder of the house in 1674. 



Page Seventy-nine 






















































































































































THE WALKER HOMESTEAD 


The Walker Homestead on Centre street, East Providence, was 
built in 1792 by Richard Walker, a descendant of the “Widow 
Walker” who, with her two sons, was a member of the party of colo¬ 
nists led by Rev. Samuel Newman, who emigrated from England 
about 1640. It has the distinction of having stood in two States and 
three towns—Rehoboth and Seekonk, in Massachusetts, and East 
Providence, in Rhode Island. The property has always remained in 
the Walker family, the land upon which it stands being a part of 
the tract purchased from the Indians by one of Richard Walker’s 
ancestors. 

This was the second dwelling built on or near the present site, 
the wood for which was cut on the estate. In his youth Richard 
Walker went to sea, but most of his life was spent in this house, which 
at that time was considered one of the finest in that section. After his 
death his only son, Capt. Lewis Walker, a veteran of the War of 
1812, inherited the homestead. He died in 1861, and after the death 
of his widow in 1899 it became the property of her daughter, Miss 
Mary Walker, who is still living at the age of eighty-eight. 

From this house Capt. Lewis Walker rode horseback to Boston 
to attend the sessions of the Massachusetts Legislature, and the north¬ 
east chamber was his court room, where he presided as judge in addi¬ 
tion to carrying on his trade as a blacksmith in his smithy across the 
road, and running his farm. 



Page Eighty-one 









































































































THE DUNCAN HOUSE 


This stately mansion is situated at number 103 Smith street, 
directly opposite the rear of the State House, and has several times 
been talked of as a suitable one for a “Governor’s Mansion.” At one 
time a proposition was made that it be purchased by the State and 
renovated for such a purpose, but the project failed of consummation. 
During the World War it was occupied as an annex to the State House, 
furnishing quarters for the Rhode Island Draft Board as well as the 
State Fuel and Food Administrators, who took possession of the 
premises in November, 1917. 

In late years the estate has been known as the Smith House, 
although older residents are more familiar with it as the “Duncan 
House,” it having been the home for a number of years of Alexander 
Duncan, a Scotchman who came to this country about 1820, and, 
marrying into one of the old Rhode Island families, amassed a large 
fortune. He was the owner of the widely known “Duncan estate,” 
which included Butler Exchange, the Arcade and considerable prop¬ 
erty extending from Exchange place to the water front. The house 
was built about 1800. 



Page Eighty-three 





















































































































































































































THE JOHN CARTER BROWN HOUSE 

When this old mansion was built, at Power and Benefit streets, 
by Joseph Nightingale, about 1791, it was called the finest mansion in 
Providence. To-day it is called one of the finest colonial houses in 
the country. 

The house came into possession of Nicholas Brown in 1814 and 
later was the home of John Carter Brown, member of the firm of 
Brown ft Ives, and one of the most prosperous merchants of his day. 
His greatest fame, however, was gained as a collector of books and his 
collection of Americana, is now housed in the John Carter Brown 
Library at Brown University, for the erection of which Mr. Brown 
also bequeathed $150,000. 



"Tmthtt?- oarnniu »uo 


1 M i ni HiluniiTTTTT T TTiinrir.^ iininiiaiiii 

Wiriiiiiiiliiiiiii'i'iiiTOiiMi ii'i iniiiT»Bfl iii , | 


'u jjb me' 


Vuiihiiiiiiiu,i»iiiiimiiiuiwTTwiMMiHii~TiT|iTwroir| 


u i uiUiuiuniHnnntiumuiuauninmn^l jr v* 


■tcn myiu ■i^xiTTTnnnim^iminn'icn^ —" “I j c~ ~e^~7 


Page Eighty-five 

















































































































THE TRUMAN BECKWITH HOUSE 


As one goes up College Hill, at the northeast corner of College 
and Benefit streets, he comes to an imposing square bjrick mansion of 
the later Colonial style, that forms the first of a number of the former- 
day homes of the wealthiest residents of Providence. It was built by 
the late Truman Beckwith, who died in 1878, who, although he pur¬ 
sued various interests was in the cotton business for fifty-five years. 

When the family of Mr. Beckwith learned that he was about to 
erect a home for himself on this site, he is accredited with saying, “I 
can’t see why Truman wants to build up there in the lots!” But the 
young merchant apparently knew his own mind and built his house 
‘‘in the lots.” It was designed by John H. Greene, the designer and 
builder of many of the fine old houses on the East Side of Provi¬ 
dence. Among these were the Sullivan Dorr mansion on Benefit 
street, the Mrs. John Carter Brown’s house on Benevolent street, St. 
John’s Episcopal Church, the First Congregational Church. 

Mr. Beckwith was born in 1783 and lived most of his life in 
Providence, although in his earlier years mercantile pursuits took him 
to other cities, especially to Savannah, Ga. ( where he was engaged in 
the buying of cotton for a number of years and in this connection 
built one of the old cotton warehouses on South Water street in 
1817. The following year he was one of the men who established 
the Merchants Bank in Providence. He was a member of the building 
committee that erected the Dexter Asylum in 1827-28, and the 
What Cheer building in 1851. 



Page Eighty-seven 













































































THE BETSEY WILLIAMS COTTAGE 


One of the show places of Providence is this old cottage in 
Roger Williams Park, wherein dwelt Betsey Williams, descendant of 
Rhode Island’s founder, and the donor of the park which bears her 
illustrious ancestor’s name. The cottage and park came into posses¬ 
sion of the city in 1871, when Betsey Williams died, and the only 
provision attached to the gift was that the city erect in the park a 
memorial to Roger Williams. The statue was unveiled in October, 
1877. 

The cottage was erected by Nathaniel Williams, about the year 
1773, for his son, James Williams, father of Betsey. James Wil¬ 
liams spent the remainder of his days there, as did his daughter. 
Nearby, on Elmwood avenue, was the home of Joseph Williams, 
youngest son of Roger Williams, who at one time owned the 103 
acres now embraced in the park. This house was torn down in 1886. 
The bodies of Joseph Williams and members of his family lie in a 
little burial ground within the park limits. 

The Betsey Williams cottage has been carefully preserved by the 
city and its old furnishings delight the eyes of lovers of antiques. At 
certain hours during each week it is open to the public, with a care¬ 
taker present to guard its treasures. 



Page Eighty-nine 


























































































CRAWFORD ALLEN HOUSE 


Providence, in its East Side residential section, is noted for its 
numerous examples of fine Colonial architecture. Many houses 
standing in that section still bear the imprint and influence of the days 
that preceded a century ago. Among these latter may be mentioned 
the Crawford Allen house, at 12 Benevolent street, which possesses 
all the lines that typified the finest Colonial mansions. 

It was built by the late Crawford Allen about 1818, for his 
sister, Miss Candace Allen, and was left by her to her brother, Craw¬ 
ford Allen, and through him became a part of the estate inherited by 
Mrs. John Carter Brown. The land upon which the house stands is a 
part of an original grant to Thomas Field, a brother of Charles Field, 
for whom Charles Field street was named. 

Situated high on a bank, with a massive stone wall in front 
topped by a low iron fence, the old dwelling sits side-wise to the 
street, affording an unobstructed view of the porticoed front entrance, 
with its series of columns and old-fashioned door, with its heavy 
brass knocker. The patriarchal appearance is further heightened by 
windows of many small panes of glass, the casings of which are par¬ 
ticularly noticeable because of their rigorous simplicity, in contrast to 
the elliptical arch over the second-story centre window which is a 
distinctive feature of the architecture of that period. True to type, is 
the low balustrade that extends along the edge of the roof, giving 
the house the appearance of a greater height than it actually possesses. 



Page Ninety-one 













































































































































































































































































THE GOVERNOR DYER HOUSE 


One of the best types of the Colonial mansion of a century or 
more ago, of which there are several on the East Side, is the Governor 
Dyer house at 154 Power street. Although called the “Governor 
Dyer” house by the present generation, because it was the home of the 
second Governor Elisha Dyer and where he died, it was not the orig¬ 
inal Governor Dyer house. That belonged to Elisha’s father, the first 
Governor Dyer, and was located on the south side of Westminster 
street, nearly opposite Aborn street. 

The house shown in the sketch was erected in 1818 by John 
Holden Greene, but came into the possession of the Dyer family many 
years ago, and within its doors many notable social gatherings have 
been held. Since the death of the wife of the second Governor, the 
mother of Colonel H. Anthony Dyer, the family has not occupied it. 

It is of the usual two-story style of architecture found in the 
typical Colonial mansion, with long open porch extending practically 
the entire length of the front and with entrance directly into the centre 
of the building, an excellent example of Colonial doorways. 

Around the edge of the roof is the usual low balustrade, not only 
ornate but also practical, in masking the otherwise plain roof. This 
house, however, differs from many others in that it has a second 
balustrade of a different pattern from the lower one, extending around 
a square cupola-like elevation at the top, adding to the picturesque¬ 
ness of the structure. 



Page Ninety-three 


















































THE CONTINENTAL DOCK 


“The Continental Dock,” as it is familiarly known throughout 
New England, was not always the quite, deserted place depicted here. 
Under its portals, and past its ticket wicket, have passed hundreds of 
thousands of excursionists eager for a sail down Narragansett bay, 
and, until the trolley cars had usurped the steamers as a means of 
transportation to the resorts along both sides of the bay, the entire 
dock and often far out into the adjoining streets was frequently filled 
with thousands of persons awaiting the opening of the gates so they 
could board the company’s boats. 

Just when the building was erected is a question, but it has stood 
long enough to become a landmark for residents all over the United 
States who have ever been in Providence in the summertime. It is 
now the office building of the Providence, Fall River and Newport 
Steamboat Company. 

It was built, probably, just after the close of the Civil War, for 
in 1865 the American Steamboat Company was instituted to operate 
a regular passenger and freight line of steamers to Newport, and excur¬ 
sion boats to the resorts on the bay. The company was incorporated 
and organized in the spring of 1865, with Earl P. Mason as President 
and Benjamin Buffum, treasurer and manager. 

The land where the building and wharf stand was purchased by 
Mr. Mason from Byron Sprague, a brother of A. W. Sprague, and 
here has been the official home of the steamboat company ever since, 
although the name has twice been changed, to the Continental Steam¬ 
boat Company in 1876, and to the present form about twenty 
years ago. 



Page Ninety-five 

























































































































































































































































































































































































































































THE PHILIP WALKER HOMESTEAD 

When King Philip and the Wampanoags started on the maraud¬ 
ing expedition which was later dignified by the name of “King Phil¬ 
ip’s War.” they burned and pillaged as they went. Settlers along the 
line of their march were terrorized and among the buildings burned 
was the homestead at what is now Massasoit avenue and North 
Broadway in East Providence. 

The house was burned, but its foundation, laid by skilled and 
careful hands, remained, and upon these stones the building pictured 
opposite was erected in 1679. nearly two hundred fifty years ago. by 
Philip Walker. With his mother, young Walker had come to what 
was then Rehoboth. in 1643. with Rev. Samuel Newman's colony. 

For many years the house was known as “The Old Red House." 
red being the color which it was originally painted. It is still owned 
and occupied by descendants of its builder. In front of the house is 
the old curbed well, with its sweep and bucket, which early genera¬ 
tions of the family used. They are carefully preserved, although long 
in disuse. 


Page Sinety-$ix 



Page Ninety-seven 







































































































OLD WHITE CHURCH, RUMFORD 


The rich Colonial lines that characterize the early New England 
meeting house are strikingly preserved in this gem of Puritan simplic¬ 
ity, “The Old White Church,” or the Newman Congregational 
Church, as it is called, from its founder, Rev. Samuel Newman, lo¬ 
cated at Rumford. 

The “Old White Church” was founded in 1646, old style. 
When the long dispute over the boundary of Rhode Island and Mas¬ 
sachusetts was settled in 1862, in such a way that the westerly part of 
Seekonk, Mass., was annexed to Rhode Island, and became known as 
East Providence, this church was one of the priceless heirlooms of 
Colonial days that came into the possession of this State. 

The change in the boundary line made the “Old White Church” 
the oldest one of the Congregational denomination in Rhode Island. 

The original site was where the cemetery now is, designated in 
the town meeting records of October 8, 1646, as in the “midst of 
the town.” On February 3, 1647, the drum was ordered to be 
sounded in token of the completion of the first edifice. 

The present building was completed on March 30, 1810, at the 
trifling cost of $4,488.94. The church was rededicated on May 17, 
1891, after it had been partly reconstructed. A notable line of pas¬ 
tors, and the history of the “First Precinct in Rehoboth” are in¬ 
separably connected with this noble meeting house. 



Page Ninety-nine 












































































































































































THE SHEFFIELD FARMHOUSE 


A familiar landmark near Quonochontaug Beach on Rhode Is¬ 
land’s south shore is the Sheffield Farmhouse, also known as the “Half 
Way House” located on the Lucas Farm, one of the most historic 
grants of land in the South County. It consists of more than forty- 
five acres which has an open frontage of more than two thousand feet 
on the Atlantic ocean at Quonochontaug. This property has recently 
changed hands and is to be cut up into lots for summer properties. 

The farm was originally granted by the Indians to Thomas 
Stanton about 1660 and passed as dowry to Rebecca Stanton, who 
became Mrs. Thomas Sheffield in 1710. It was at about this time 
that the dwelling which forms this sketch is said to have been con¬ 
structed. Six generations of the Sheffield family successively passed 
their years on this farm, among them being Major Thomas Sheffield, 
who served with the American forces in the Revolutionary War. 

The property passed out of the possession of the Sheffield family 
and Albert Pendleton became its owner. It was sold to Aaron Lucas 
in 1888 and recently was purchased by Howard E. Thorp and 
Rogers E. Trainor of Westerly. 



Page One Hundred and One 




































































































































BEAVER TAIL LIGHTHOUSE, JAMESTOWN 


Few excursionists or others, who round the ocean-laved and 
illuminated headland on the southern end of the Island of Conanicut, 
at the mouth of Narragansett bay, are aware of the fact that here was 
located the first lighthouse on the American seaboard. But the more 
natural inquiry concerning the place is regarding its singular name of 
Beaver Tail. 

Looking at a map of Narragansett Bay it will be seen that the 
island is shaped very much like a beaver, the northwestern extremity 
being the head and the southern, the tail, and the earlier settlers called 
the whole, Beaver, and named the upper extremity Beaver Head and 
the lower, Beaver Tail. 

As to the Beaver Tail Lighthouse, the point bore a watch tower 
and beacon fire in Colonial times, perhaps as early as 1667, certainly 
in 1690 to warn the people of the approach of any hostile fleets. Un¬ 
questionably here was one of the “seven watch towers erected along 
the coast’’ and one of the “five beacons established upon command¬ 
ing heights’’ in 1740. In 1744, the old watch tower and beacon at 
Point Judith and Beaver Tail were renewed and in 1749 a lighthouse 
was ordered to be built at Beaver Tail which was accomplished during, 
the next year. 

The records show this to be the oldest lighthouse on the Atlantic 
coast. The second lighthouse was the Brant lighthouse at the en¬ 
trance to Nantucket harbor, erected in 1754; the third was Sandy 
Hook in 1764; the fourth at Great Point, on Nantucket, in 1784 and 
the fifth was the Race Point light at Provincetown in 1792. 

In 1753 Beaver Tail Lighthouse having been burned down, the 
General Assembly ordered a new one to be constructed of brick or 
stone with a house adjoining for the use of the keeper. In October, 
1779, the lighthouse at Beaver Tail was burned by the British on 
their evacuation of Newport. It was soon rebuilt. 


Page One Hundred and Two 




Page One Hundred and Three 


























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































